The present invention relates to a dispensing head that can be used in a device for packaging and dispensing a product. The invention can be particularly advantageous for dispensing cosmetic products, particularly products to be dispensed in the form of a cream, a gel, a foam or a spray.
“Cosmetic product” is understood to mean a product as defined in Council Directive 93/35/EEC of 14 Jun. 1993 amending for the sixth time Directive 76/768/EEC.
Generally speaking, a dispensing head can be associated with a packaging and dispensing device that includes a receptacle containing the product to be dispensed, with the receptacle having an open end on which the dispensing member can be mounted. The dispensing member may be a pump or a valve associated with a dispensing head. A dispensing head of this type enables the user to convey the product emerging from the container towards a dispensing orifice. The dispensing head may also make it possible to control the actuation of the dispensing member in order to eject a measure of product out of the receptacle.
Certain applications, for example the spraying of a relatively viscous product, such as milks or oils, require the use of pre-compression pumps in order for it to be possible to form a good-quality spray of fine particles. However, such pumps can be difficult to actuate with a simple push-button. Accordingly, a dispensing head can include a trigger acting as a lever arm for pushing the push-button in order to facilitate actuation.
To prevent accidental actuation of dispensing heads, it is known to use protective caps. However, dispensing heads that include lever arms can be relatively cumbersome and difficult to cover with a cap.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,373,644 and 4,441,633 describe, for example, dispensing heads provided with triggers that include a safety device to prevent young children from actuating the trigger. However, the dispensing heads described are of the “trigger” type, i.e. the pump is entirely incorporated into the head provided with the trigger and cannot be separated therefrom. Thus, if it is desired to change the pump in order, for example, to dispense a different measure of product, it is necessary to change the entire dispensing head and to choose a head that includes a pump that makes it possible to deliver the desired measure. Furthermore, such triggers can be unattractive and do not allow a very wide choice of designs.
The safety device described in the above patents is, moreover, impractical in that it consists of an open ring provided in order to be removably mounted on the trigger. The ring can thus easily be separated from the trigger and risks being lost. On the other side of the opening, the ring includes a protrusion provided to abut against the end of the trigger in order to prevent its displacement in the locked position. The protrusion is housed in a groove provided at the rear of the trigger so that, in the locked position, the ring does not rotate. The user then has to raise the trigger the direction opposite from its direction of actuation, and then rotate the ring in order to displace the protrusion and free the trigger to be actuated. Similarly, when the user wishes to prevent any actuation of the head, he or she again has to raise the trigger and cause the ring to rotate until the ring's protrusion is aligned with the trigger, using only a visual reference mark. Such an arrangement can be cumbersome or impractical.
Document EP 1,317,963 describes a dispensing head provided with a trigger that includes a locking member in the form of a ring. The ring surrounds a portion of the diffuser sleeve-fitted on the actuating rod of the pump, with the ring being able to rotate about the portion of the diffuser between a locked position and a use position. The portion of the diffuser extending in the same axis as the actuating rod includes, in its upper part, a protuberance which is able to slide in a groove provided on the inner surface of the ring in the use position and which abuts against the ring in the locked position.
Documents JP-10099745 and JP-09057161 describe other types of locking devices provided on dispensing heads provided with a trigger. The locking devices described in those documents are small bars that in the locked position block the trigger so as to prevent actuation.